Deformed Wing Virus?

[Jen]

Same here Perry, I love OA, MAQS is second choice. MAQS saved my one and only hive last fall. Then I went to OA.

[LazyBkpr]

Ihave used Hopguard, but was les than impressed after a "single" treatment..   I found that applying the max recommended for one year back to back had a much more significant impact on the mites.. but that also means you cant use the hopguard again that year..   OAV has been working like the proverbial silver bullet so far.. if it ever starts to fail I will use MAQS..
  Perhaps the "NEW" Hopgaurd two is better?  No experience with it so cannot say..
   I am glad to hear the treatments went OK Ted. I like to think I have pretty docile bees, but as you found out.. (We both did) when they get riled it takes em a bit to calm down.
  Ted showed up, came over and sat down, then giggled while I tried to smack down a couple of persistent bees that were pinging off my forehead..  Then one of them decided Ted looked like a better target and pegged him on the cheek..   So we moved back to the shed to talk after that...
   The next morning I was capable of once again wandering through the hives unmolested.
   I am not sure the mechanism the bees use to alert each other, but it seems that I can inspect colonies thoroughly through the first four to six colonies, after that they seem to start getting aggrivated.. can other colonies pick up on the alarm pheromone? Is it just the upset bees flying about?  I cant say, but usually by colony six I have to put the hood up.   JUST doing inspections they do seem to calm down within a few minutes of ending the inspections..  When I have to move hives, change bottom boards etc, they remain angry for a longer time.
   When I treat with OAV.. I usually do not inspect or fuss with them otherwise and have not had a problem. When treating with Hopguard they are upset. Not terribly so, but it is a noticeable difference. A little more bearding and more warnings if I wander about among them.

[Jen]

Scott- "When I treat with OAV.. I usually do not inspect or fuss with them otherwise and have not had a problem.

     Same here, it's like nothing ever happened.. except dead mites 

[riverbee]

"Not arguing Mrs River, because I agree..  First year packages really shouldnt need anything.. perhaps some fumadil B stored and capped in the fall syrup to help with nosema through the winter."......... "New colonies do NOT usually have a high mite count their first year, but they DO have mites...
   So I guess my question would be...    Why wouldn't you treat with OAV to insure low mites and strong bees for winter?  Maybe I need to change my method!"

scott, sorry for the delayed reply.  i changed MY method.  having grown weary of a losing battle with the mites, (and long cold winters) i switched to russian bees, and i have never looked back.  i hope no one misunderstands my posts on treatment of bees.  if it's necessary, it's necessary, but i think sometimes we over treat our bees. i would agree first year packages typically should not need anything except some fumadil, however, i have seen packages arrive with mite problems. randy oliver has a great article on the treatment of bees, and like starvation or any other malady, i would not want my bees to suffer and would feed and treat accordingly. nature is not kind to bees and as oliver says "good husbandry is all about keeping your colonies alive and healthy!"  i believe in this, and practice this to the best of my knowledge and ability, no different than any other livestock or valued family pet/critter. 
The "Rules" for Successful Beekeeping

like i said before i do believe that beginning beekeepers have a challenge and get freaked out by things they see and don't understand.  they are told to do many things by well meaning beeks or mentors, but have no idea why they are doing so, just that they have been told to do so.  as beekeepers, we need to understand the biology of the mite, and the different ways to guage when to treat, so that we can make better informed decisions for ourselves, or with the help of someone else with experience who is standing with us in our hives to make decisions.   and also to fully understand and comprehend the effects of any treatment and to follow the directions explicitly to the letter of any treatment.  and practice rotation of the combs.

during the past 12+ years, i have treated the russians for mites with apiguard gel, maybe 3 times.  the only reason i did was because i had two neighbors, one a mile away, the other about 3.....who decided to try bees. they neither treated nor fed their bees and a myriad of other goofball things...  their bees and their mites wound up in my hives not to mention the robbing problems.  i tried to work with them and educate them to no avail.  i was very happy when they both decided keeping bees wasn't for them. it was very hard for me to watch the starvation and these hives succumbing to mite infestations, and how much this affected my own hives.

russian bees aren't for everyone, and probably not a real good choice for me at this time in my life, but since keeping them, i am and have been relatively treatment free for mites.

[Jen]

Riv- "like i said before i do believe that beginning beekeepers have a challenge and get freaked out by things they see and don't understand.  they are told to do many things by well meaning beeks or mentors, but have no idea why they are doing so, just that they have been told to do so.

HooWee! I can relate to that! So misguided and naive in the beginning. Since I've been on this forum now for 7 months, I'm just now starting to learn to relax a bit with my hives... I recieve such educated structure here...   

[LazyBkpr]

Agreed completely.
    I think I knew you had Russian bees, just has not registered for a while.
   I like the OAV for bees that DO need treated because of the lack of residue and other harmful side effects.  For a new beekeeper it removes the RISKS associated with treating incorrectly and or at the wrong time.  Just one less thing to worry about. If it makes the new beekeeper FEEL better, he, or she can treat with the OAV, and of they did not NEED the treatment it still does not harm the bees, and DOES kill a few mites along the way.   I am not advocating treating if the bees do not need it, just using a product that allows a margin of error without harmful side effects. Being overwhelmed and not fully understanding the different treatments and methods, and/or what the threshold is or how to check it accurately comes with time and experience.
   I failed alcohol washes, sugar shakes etc the first few times I did them.. I was not even entirely sure what I was looking for back then.   Scooping bees in to a jar was quite stressful for me, and I can only assume it was the bees as well.. It took me a bit of time to gain confidence in what I was doing.  So being able to treat, even if they didnt need it because they are not SURE, but want to MAKE sure is a great amount of weight removed from the shoulders of a new beekeeper. The stuff I started with scared the bejeesus out of me putting it in the hives. Using something less nasty would have been a lot more reassuring. Again, that is not saying they SHOULD treat without checking, it is saying it gives them the time and confidence to be able to perfect their methods and ability while keeping their bees alive, without harming them from "overcare".
   That is what I was trying to get across..
   For me, with 40+ hives now, it means I can check 6 to 8 hives, and if the mite levels are high I can treat ALL of the hives. If there are a couple that did not need it, there was no harm done.  If I had to check the mite levels on all hives it would be a long day in the bee yard and a lot more bees would die.  A little freedom from worry, for a new beekeeper, or an old one!

[Jen]

Scott- "I failed alcohol washes, sugar shakes etc the first few times I did them.. I was not even entirely sure what I was looking for back then.   Scooping bees in to a jar was quite stressful for me, and I can only assume it was the bees as well.. It took me a bit of time to gain confidence in what I was doing.  So being able to treat, even if they didnt need it because they are not SURE, but want to MAKE sure is a great amount of weight removed from the shoulders of a new beekeeper. The stuff I started with scared the bejeesus out of me putting it in the hives.

Ditto on that! For me I had a hard time killing a cup full of bees just for a mite count. OAV saved me that agony. I mean aren't we supposed to be saving the bees instead of killing them? That may seem extreme to some others but it was important to me ~

[iddee]

Does sound a bit extreme coming from someone who collects bees just to let them sting people and die.         

[Jen]

OOOHohohoho! Good One Mr. Wizard.. Good... One!!

In my defense, I may use 1 bee to help people in a medicinal way, mainly pain relief. That is completely different than killing 300 bees to see how many nasty fluid suckers there are clinging to them, when using a sticky board alleviates that uneccessary slaughter.